Fox says Brexit is not the only reason for GDP slowdown

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BERN (Reuters) - Britain’s economic slowdown should not be blamed entirely on Brexit, British Trade Minister Liam Fox said on Monday after data showed the economy last year grew at its slowest since 2012.

“Clearly there are those who believe that Brexit is the only economic factor applying to the UK economy. I think you’ll find that the predicted slowdown in a number of European economies is not disconnected from the slowdown, for example, in China,” Fox told a news conference in the Swiss capital.

“The idea that Brexit is the only factor affecting the global economy is just to miss the point,” he said.

With just six weeks to go before Britain’s scheduled departure from the European Union on March 29, Fox dismissed the chances of another popular vote that could overturn Brexit and also dismissed ideas put forward by opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn.

“The chances of having a second referendum are as close to nil as I could imagine,” he said.

He said the ideas put forward by Corbyn were “not workable”, because it was impossible to subscribe to his proposal to have a customs union with the EU while also influencing EU policy.

“To pretend that you could do so is a dangerous delusion,” Fox said.

Fox was in Switzerland to sign a continuity trade deal with Swiss Economy Minister Guy Parmelin, to ensure trading relations can continue with as little disruption as possible if Britain leaves the European Union on March 29 without a deal.